Greater Zeitgeists
Zeitgeists are echoes in the Astral of the intense focus and attention on some particular event. They are no more than tangles of thoughts, ideas, and emotions, but they developed into minds of their own, thoughts thinking about themselves. They are tightly connected to history, the worlds and peoples who first thought them, and can discuss little else. During a seance, participants can attempt to learn from them, but they are frustratingly inconsistent and incoherent. Thoughts may come from myriad languages, including those have been dead for ages—or even come from some other world entirely, completely foreign to you. The GM may allow skill checks to persuade a zeitgeist to be more helpful, or to parse the babbling and unknown languages, but this occurs solely at his discretion. Often times, the zeitgeists simply are not capable of communicating anything useful. Otherwise, the only useful thing to be done during a seance is for an empath to forge contracts with zeitgeists. Below are descriptions of what happens when one does. Zeitgeist Descriptions The introduction to zeitgeists is their name and epithet, along with a description of the zeitgeist and its origins. The descriptions vary from histories to quotes stated during or about the event. Associated Events: '''Each zeitgeist reflects a singular event, but history’s tendency to repeat itself reinforces and strengthens the zeitgeist when similar events occur. Sometimes, the zeitgeist does not even represent the first such event; some great development in an area subsumed any previous zeitgeist. Empaths may be able to learn of such events during seances, even from zeitgeists they do not or cannot contract with. '''Compulsion: '''Empaths contracted with the zeitgeist must obey this compulsion or risk psychic enervation. '''Goal: '''Zeitgeists whose goal an empath has completed also grant her a spirit surge as part of her contract. '''Seance Boon: '''An empaths gains this boon, applying her spirit bonus to a pair of skills, when she contracts with the zeitgeist. If she has the collective seance ability, the members of her collective also gain it, adding her spirit bonus to their skill checks. '''Spirit Power: '''An empath contracted with the zeitgeist gains this spirit power. The spirit powers of lesser zeitgeists are treated as lesser spirit powers, the spirit powers of intermediate zeitgeists are treated as intermediate spirit powers, and so on. '''Psionic Powers: '''An empath contracted with the zeitgeist treats these powers as powers known (excepting those above her maximum power level). '''Et Panem, the Championship Games and sports by their very nature draw much attention, and have long been reflected in the cosmos by various zeitgeists (or one ever-changing zeitgeist). The current obsession seems to be a strange, high-speed, high-impact sport, the details of which seem to be difficult to describe. Associated Events: '''Championships, particularly those that are somehow special above and beyond merely being the regular final round of a season. '''Compulsion: '''Never give a competition anything less than your best effort. '''Goal: '''Win a major championship in some game or sport. '''Seance Bonus: '''Your spirit bonus applies on Acrobatics and Swim checks. '''Spirit Bonus: '''While you are psionically focused, you do not provoke attacks of opportunity for movement or manifesting powers. You must maintain psionic focus throughout power manifestation to avoid provoking; if you expend your last psionic focus, for instance to apply a metapsionic feat, then the manifesting does provoke. '''Psionic Powers * 3rd: Psionic Lion’s Charge – You can make a full attack in the same round you charge. * 4th: Psychokinetic Charge ''– Telekinetically launch an ally across the battlefield. * '''5th:' Summoning Strike – Teleport a nearby creature to you and attack it. Evol, the Star Beast The only zeitgeist possibly older than Cogito, Evol reflects the sheer will to survive, possibly from the very first moments when life struggled to do so, prior to any true minds. It is impossible to say for sure, as Evol continuously changes, and updates, and improves, becoming more and more fit for survival. The current ‘Star Beast’ moniker, for instance, is relatively new, and scholars still have not determined where it came from. Associated Events: 'Literally every verb for survival augments Evol in a small way, but the birth of novel, effective evolutions and adaptations are most important to it. '''Compulsion: '''Survive. Risks are part of life, but do not lay down your life for another or for a cause. '''Goal: '''Discover, fight, and kill a new creature previously unknown to your people. '''Seance Boon: '''Your spirit bonus applies on Heal and Survival checks. '''Spirit Bonus: '''You gain a number of adaptation points equal to your spirit bonus. When you use ''graft armor, you may improve that armor as an aegis of your empath level customizes his astral suit, with each adaptation point counting as one customization point. When you use graft weapon, you may improve the target weapon as a soulknife of your empath level enhances his mind blade, using an adaptation point each +1-equivalent worth of weapon properties. In both cases these improvements are in addition to whatever typical benefit that armor or weapon provides. If this would cause the item’s enhancement bonus equivalent to exceed +10, you must choose at most +10 worth of properties. You may change how these points are arranged each time you use graft armor ''or ''graft weapon, including removing points from the opposite power’s target. The improvements to either weapon or armor last only as long as they remain grafted to you. '''Psionic Powers* * 3rd: Graft Armor ''– Your armor becomes an extension of your body. * '''3rd:' Graft Weapon ''– Your hand is replaced seamlessly by your weapon. * '''4th:' Flight ''– You fl at a speed of 60 feet. * '''5th:' Parasitic Possession – Hide within the body of a creature, experiencing all of its activities. *Evol gains two 3rd-level powers, rather than one. Jammer, the Age of Exploration A zeitgeist remade many times, Jammer has its origins in the first time primitive peoples took to the seas in ships. It was recreated as new technologies enabled further exploration and inspired new generations. It currently reflects the multiverse’s interest in exploring the planes. Associated Events: 'Any new development that opens up new places for exploration, or any explorer’s return and stories of new lands becoming widely circulated. '''Compulsion: '''Do not interfere with other cultures’ internal affairs, or at all in the case of primitive cultures unaware of the outside world. '''Goal: '''Go where no one has gone before, and bring back news of your travels. '''Seance Boon: '''Your spirit bonus applies on Knowledge (planes) and Survival checks. '''Spirit Bonus: '''A number of creatures equal to your spirit bonus may be included in your ''astral caravan without them needing to be affected by astral traveler. You also gain a flight speed and a swim speed equal to your land speed, and a burrow speed equal to half that. Your flight has good maneuverability. You are also under continuous spider climb ''and ''water walk ''supernatural effects, and can use a supernatural ''freedom of movement for a number of rounds equal to your spirit bonus by expending your psionic focus. '''Psionic Powers * 3rd: Astral Caravan – You lead astral traveler-enabled group to a planar destination. * 4th: Anchored Navigation – Establish a mishap-free teleport beacon. * 5th: Planar Travel ''– Travel to other planes. '''Nirvana, the Becoming One' Becoming one with your surroundings is a goal in many philosophies and religions, but usually a goal or ideal, to approach without ever reaching. This constant striving, however, received a new fervor when, to all appearances, someone did. Associated Events: '''Meditation of all kinds '''Compulsion: '''Do not willingly accept morale bonuses. '''Goal: '''Be recognized as having attained the highest form of enlightenment, as defined by at least one faith or philosophy. '''Seance Bonus: '''Your spirit bonus applies on Perception and Survival checks. '''Spirit Bonus: '''As a standard action, you can expend your psionic focus to become a purely psychic entity and meld with a willing ally within 30 feet. In this state, you can only take purely mental actions, originating from that ally’s space. However, you are also impossible to target except by attempts to exorcise you (as if you were possessing your ally), or to dispel this effect (using your manifester level as the effect’s caster level). The ally you meld with gains a +1 bonus to all saving throws and cannot be flanked for as long as you are melded. This effect has a visual display consisting of a spectral copy of yourself floating over the ally. It lasts a number of rounds equal to your spirit bonus, and once it ends you cannot use it again for an hour. When it ends, you appear in corporeal form adjacent to the ally. If the ally dies under this effect, it immediately ends with you appearing in the ally’s space, and you risk psychic enervation. '''Psionic Powers * 3rd: Touchsight – Your telekinetic field tells you where everything is. * 4th: Steadfast Perception ''– Gain immunity to illusory effects, +6 bonus on Perception checks. * '''5th:' Clairtangent Hand – Emulate far hand ''at a distance. '''Yus, the Tortured Torturer' Torture can have profound effects on the mind. The tortured eventually reaches a point where they will say or do anything to stop the pain. Yus reflects an entire religion obsessed with it, good people tortured into torturers themselves by an inquisition that stopped caring about their tenets and only about the “art.” Associated Events: 'Each time a mind breaks under the pressures of torture. '''Compulsion: '''Reject reality, and substitute your own. Do not accept that there are any limitations on what you are capable of. '''Goal: '''Break another being, completely reshaping its outlook. '''Seance Boon: '''Your spirit bonus applies on Intimidate and Use Magic Device checks. '''Spirit Power: '''Each time a creature takes damage from your ''forced share pain ''power, you gain a number of pain points equal to twice the amount of damage dealt. Each negative level you apply with ''mindwipe ''grants you a number of pain points equal to ten times the target’s Hit Dice minus any negative levels it already had (for example, if 2 negative levels are applied to a creature with 10 Hit Dice, the first grants 100 pain points and the second grants 90). Each time you fatigue a creature with ''induce nightmare, you gain pain points equal to ten times its caster level or manifester level (minimum 50, including if the creature has no caster level or manifester level). You lose any pain points you may have when the contract with Yus, the Tortured Torturer ends. You may expend 1,500 pain points in order to use ''bend reality ''as a psi-like ability. '''Psionic Powers * 3rd: Share Pain, Forced – Unwilling subject takes some of your damage. * 4th: Mindwipe – Subject’s recent experiences wiped away, bestowing negative levels. * 5th: Induce Nightmare – Sends vision dealing 1d10 damage, fatigue. Category:Source: Psionics Augmented: Occult